Julie Powell dead at 49

Culture, Media, General
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The creator of the Julie/Julia project has died of cardiac arrest.

I was very influenced by her blog … sad news.

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Very sad, and so young to go. RIP.

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Did you read her second book about learning to be a butcher? It made me dislike her.

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Why?

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Same. I thought it was ambitious and funny and spoke to a desire many of us had to return to some sort of normalcy after 9/11.

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Oddly enough, I was not familiar with Julie Powell’s blog until I saw Julie & Julia when it first came out. Which is why I was thrown for a curve to find out Julia didn’t care for it. In hindsight I understood why. But yes, 49 is way too young.

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I read her initial Julia blog, which was pickled in purple prose, and quite witty. I did not read Cleaving, but did read her blog posts regarding it, and multiple reviews of the book. My long-standing suspicion that she was in dubious mental health was confirmed. The period Cleaving covers includes flagrant infidelity to her husband, and taking dangerous risks with her personal health and safety. I am sorry to hear of her passing, but not surprised.

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I read Julie and Julia, having never read the blog, but after finding it at a deep discount at Borders. The premise piqued my interest. I was not impressed by her writing, or some of the issues she focused on. I seem to remember a lot of whining about bad jobs, annoying subway commutes, and etc. I was glad I hadn’t paid full price for the book. The movie, IMO redeemed the story, the screenwriting, casting, and the magic of Hollywood created a charming and delightful movie. Sad real life ending for Ms Powell unfortunately.

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Wow. She was pretty young when she did Julie and Julia project (age 30 I believe). 20 years later now, she passed away at age 49 is still fairly young.

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Do elaborate.

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https://www.villagevoice.com/2009/11/30/review-julie-powells-cleaving-a-story-of-marriage-meat-and-obsession/

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https://messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/template/oakv2?campaign_id=93&emc=edit_fb_20221103&instance_id=76436&nl=frank-bruni&productCode=FB&regi_id=73167687&segment_id=111912&te=1&uri=nyt%3A%2F%2Fnewsletter%2F6adf7282-1758-5e92-a4c7-0cf59c2ff789&user_id=ed4c9ef755dff7506021f116bf96bda2

Herewith, former NYT food critic, Frank Bruni, on how Julie Powell changed gastronomy. Though he doesn’t specifically mention the pandemic, it can also be argued that the people inspired by Ms. Powell to work on their kitchen skills wound up with an advantage as regards feeding yourself and families during a time when NYC was no longer a culinary paradise that would deliver a United Nations of food to your building with just a phone call.

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I am sorry to hear such a judgemental statement about a brave soul who followed her passions, different as they were from yours or mine